The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1887-05-26
Our Evening Sermon
"Be not hasty in the spirit to be
angry; for anger resteth in the bosom
of fools. PROV. 7-9.

That admonition sounds very well,
and it looks equally we'll in print, but
there is ever a proneness to pass such
things over as commonplace affairs,
matters to be approved in passing
but passed just the same. It is one of
the great drawbacks to Christian prog
ress that it is so difficult to impress
the mind and heart with the import
ance of the lessons all about US.
Hardly day passes but each soul re-
allies the Importance and impressive
ness Of some great truth which, if &C
cepted in the right spirit and adopted
as part of the ruling influence of
the life, would accomplish great
good. The teachings of divine love
and wisdom are all about US, and even
the simplest and most insignificant
matters are made powerful agencies
for good, subject Of course to the good
impulse or the perverse disposition of
the observer.
One of the greatest difficulties in
the way Of of perfect Christian life,
is the power Of the human passion,
the almost, and sometimes fully, resist
less force with which the flame Of this
passion assails the poor, weak will. We
have frequently heard fine distine-
tion drawn, or rather the attempt to
draw such a. distinction, between ''vic-
iously angry" and "righteously indig-
nant'' One friend asks ''do you think
it possible for man to live and abso-
lutely sinless life in this world?" In
answer. we do not see why a man
might not live pure life. We have
the light-we have Gods word, his re-
vealed laws, and within US we have, in
the conscience, monitor which re-
cords every rash or thoughtless act.
We have the example of the Savior,
the only absolutely perfect life of his
tory, to serve as a guide to our thought
and our action, and it does seem there
fore that we should be able to lead
perfect lives. But the troublesome
question comes up, do we live as we'll
as we know how?" All. there is the
point which causes us trouble, and
gives US food for sober, solemn
thought. We heard a good brother
say he had lived, and was living, a
pure life. 'Do you not perpetrate a
little sin occasionally?" we asked him.
"Ah, no! you know that the good book
teaches that life that abides in Christ
cannot sim We acknowledged the
truth of the precept, but the abiding"
part was what puzzled us. "You nev-
er get mad, then, or fly into passion
Of hatred toward brother" mo.
sir! But | am willing to admit that
l do sometimes get righteously indig-
nant!' Aha! There it was, then.
What in the worldly man would be
the sin of hatred and anger, would to
the Christian be a sort of sanity hor-
ror, or righteous Indignation!
Now, it would be decidedly unsafe
for any Christian to start out on that
line. The man who commits mur-
der is often indignant. As well might
you argue that the villain who delib-
erately puts neighbor out of the
way in order to profit by his death, is
pursuing Christian course, as to ar
que that the man who is infamed
with hatred toward a brother is acting
the part of a saint. Righteous indig-
nation! Why, this country has wit
messed the spectacle of Ministers of
the Gospel standing in their places,
with open Bibles before them, and ar
guing from a spiritual standpoint
that it was right for g. white man to
steal all that black man had, even
to the virtue Of his family. Yet nine
tenths Of the Ministers so preaching
could look over the great lids of the
Bible into perdition that was wait
ing and yawning for them. Their ar
gument was fully as reasonable as
that of the man who says he has COM
plete control over the physical man
hood, and lives as recluse in his spir-
itual manhood.
You will find, too, that the man
who by his own story is farthest re-
moved from the vanities, vagueries
and failures of the world is, as rule,
quickest to fly into passion, and will
go to greater lengths in his anger than
his less pretentious brother. The two
characters, or rather the two phases
of character, do not go we'll together.
True, we have the excuse Of such ex-
pressions as ''the wrath Of God," the
Divine Anger" and other like express
sions. But the difference must be
drawn between displeasure and anger,
between sorrow and hatred. The
Christian life must necessarily be one
of watchfulness and prayerfulness.
1t is long journey to many Of US,
and like any other journey of person
alities, must be prepared for, and all
attendant dangers guarded against
At almost every turn in the road there
will be obstacles met in the way Of
temptations. These must be cleared
away. We heard a Minister, in ad-
dressing his members in class-meeting